(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 16, 2022 – Defending Midwest Sprint Car Association and Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car champion and current point leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan took advantage of a prime front row starting spot to rack up his fifth MSA main event triumph of the 2022 campaign in the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 16.
Arenz led the 360 Sprint Car field to the green flag from the pole position and outpowered outside front row starter Alex Pokorski of West Bend at the start of the 25-lap A main to lead the opening lap.
Arenz then proceeded to open up a comfortable half-straightaway cushion over Pokorski with fourth starter Tony Wondra of Campbellsport in third. On lap 5, Pokorski got sideways and flipped into the turn four fence, while 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth simultaneously flipped in turn three to bring out the red flag. Both drivers emerged from their damaged cars uninjured.
On the restart, two-time PDTR champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started seventh, moved into fourth. One lap later, the caution flag was displayed to the field for the stalled car of Bill Taylor of Boltonville in turn four.
When the race resumed, Arenz again bolted into the lead while 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth, who started eighth, moved into third in the running order. Two laps later, the hard-charging Schmidt worked past Wondra to advance to second in turn four.
As the leaders started to work their way through slower traffic on lap 10, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh began to make his presence felt as he moved into third on lap 15 before powering past Schmidt into second on lap 20.
Meanwhile, Arenz successfully negotiated his way through the rear of the field as the laps wound down to secure his 15th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 27th career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph.
McMullen had to settle for second, Schmidt was third, fifth starter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum finished fourth and Davis rounded out the top five.
Ben Schmidt was the fastest 360 Sprint Car overall qualifier with a lap of 12.030 seconds.
Anthony Knierim of Caledonia won the 15-lap 360 Sprint Car B main.
The eighth full PDTR program of the 2022 campaign, which was sponsored by Pit Stop Pizza, drew a total field of 89 cars, including 32 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars.
The next PDTR racing program on Saturday, July 23 will feature the inaugural Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Class of 2022 induction with 10 drivers, four track workers and three racing families honored for their contributions to the racing program at Plymouth since its inception in 1950.
Spectator gates open at 4:30 p.m. with 360 Sprint Car hot laps/group qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and racing to begin at 6 p.m. for the PDTR program sponsored by Josfo Electric.
The new book “Racing Recollections – Plymouth Racetrack Fans & Drivers 1950-2021” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan, George Baumann of Waupun and Verla Peichl of Sheboygan Falls will be available for purchase at every race during the 2022 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours and online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.
The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds is located at 229 Fairview Drive in Plymouth, Wis. For more information, visit www.plymouthdtr.com or check out Plymouth Dirt Track Racing on Facebook.
KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANT VIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS
QUALIFYING
1, Ben Schmidt 12.030 2, Anthony Knierim 12.218 3, Scott Conger 12.266 4, Brandon Berth 12.272 5, Travis Arenz 12.437 6, Tommy Colburn 12.480 7, Dylan Winkel 12.489 8, Justin Erickson 12.546 9, Justin Miller 12.596 10, Shane Wenninger 12.600 11, Tony Wondra 12.685 12, Chris Clayton 12.721 13, Kurt Davis 12.738 14, Mike Yurmanovich 12.754 15, Cole Possi 12.776 16, Katelyn Krebsbach 12.782 17, Alex Pokorski 12.816 18, Tyler Davis 12.829 19, Tim Haddy 12.852 20, Brandon McMullen 12.932 21, Bill Taylor 12.967 22, Will Gerrits 12.990 23, Robbie Pribnow 13.028 24, Donny Goeden 13.049 25, Johnny Fahl 13.128 26, J.J. Pagel 13.137 27, Doug Wondra 13.299 28, Eric Wilke 13.352 29, Lance Fassbender 13.413 30, Mike Decker no time 31, Randy Post no time 32, Tyler Brabant no time.
HEAT 1
1, Bill Taylor 2, Alex Pokorski 3, Tim Haddy 4, Will Gerrits 5, Donny Goeden 6, Robbie Pribnow 7, Lance Fassbender 8, Katelyn Krebsbach.
HEAT 2
1, Cole Possi 2, Travis Arenz 3, Brandon Berth 4, Anthony Knierim 5, Tyler Davis 6, J.J. Pagel 7, Doug Wondra 8, Mike Decker.
HEAT 3
1, Shane Wenninger 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Tommy Colburn 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Mike Yurmanovich 6, Tyler Brabant 7, Randy Post 8, Justin Erickson.
HEAT 4
1, Tony Wondra 2, Justin Miller 3, Kurt Davis 4, Scott Conger 5, Dylan Winkel 6, Johnny Fahl 7, Eric Wilke 8, Chris Clayton DNS.
B MAIN
1, Anthony Knierim 2, Tyler Brabant 3, Robbie Pribnow 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Mike Yurmanovich 6, Tyler Davis 7, Dylan Winkel 8, Katelyn Krebsbach 9, Johnny Fahl 10, Mike Decker 11, Eric Wilke 12, Randy Post 13, J.J. Pagel 14, Justin Erickson 15, Doug Wondra 16, Chris Clayton.
A MAIN
1, Travis Arenz 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Shane Wenninger 5, Kurt Davis 6, Brandon Berth 7, Will Gerrits 8, Donny Goeden 9, Tony Wondra 10, Tim Haddy 11, Lance Fassbender 12, Cole Possi 13, Anthony Knierim 14, Robbie Pribnow 15, Tyler Davis 16, Tyler Brabant 17, Scott Conger 18, Mike Yurmanovich 19, Bill Taylor 20, Tommy Colburn 21, Alex Pokorski 22, Justin Miller.